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Friday, December 2, 2011

London Series: Part I

So, I realize I never really sat down to write about my life-changing trip to London. It was way back in May and there was just so much stuff I wanted to talk about. I knew I couldn't do it all at once--I took almost 800 pictures. So I decided that I will post snippets of my London trip in a little thing called The London Series. The above pictures are of me and Scott at the Louisville International Airport. The backpack I had to lug around was mighty heavy--thanks laptop and way too many prescriptions.

Our flight to Atlanta was delayed so we spent quite a bit of time waiting around. Once we got moving, you could feel the excitement. Especially once we got to Atlanta and they announced, "Now boarding flight to London-Heathrow." I sat next to a disgruntled British man who was upset that I didn't want to stow my backpack in the above compartments. I had a lot of reading to do and eventually sleeping--so I had a pillow, my glasses, Kindle, etc. I didn't get to pee for eight hours because he fell asleep and I was afraid he would bite my head off.

I ended up reading Chekhov's Cherry Orchard, Beckett's Waiting for Godot, and a couple of chapters of Lawrence's Women in Love. I remember waking up early as the flight attendants started handing out breakfast. I listened to Fleet Foxes' Helplessness Blues on my iPod and for the first time in my life, looked down to see the rolling green countryside of England. It couldn't have been more perfect.

When we got to Heathrow, it was a mad dash for black cabs. Luckily, we all nabbed one.

Once we got to the residence hall, we were assigned our rooms and allowed to get a bit settled before we had a meeting in the common room. The view outside my window (in Chelsea) took my breath away.

One of the faculty members at IES went over our schedule with us and let us know the rules and information we would need to know while staying in London. Afterward, she took us on a tour around our neighborhood (which is apparently the ritzy end of town).

This was our residence hall! Isn't it cute?

After that, we were allowed to roam about, get dinner, and shop for groceries at the Tesco. I went to dinner with Camille and Dana at the Stockpot. I had fish 'n chips but it wasn't the greatest. I also stocked up on granola bars, a bag of apples, and a little container of skim milk.

By then, we were all pretty exhausted. We just wanted to shower, finish unpacking, and go to bed. It had been a long trip. But I was excited for our first day in the classroom...